IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 10% Higher – Time to Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price rose 10% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.62 and last traded at $24.27. Approximately 12,107,130 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 24,679,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Up 7.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of -29.23 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.27.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $217,491.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,539,550.70. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $29,828.40. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 592,615 shares in the company, valued at $12,563,438. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in IonQ by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

IonQ Company Profile

IonQ, Inc engages in the development of general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. It sells access to quantum computers of various qubit capacities. The company makes access to its quantum computers through cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Braket, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, and Google’s Cloud Marketplace, as well as through its cloud service.